MIDDLE DISTANCE TRACK and field specialist Makhloufi became the 1,500 metres Olympic champion at the 2012 Summer Olympics having been excluded previously for giving up during an 800 metres heat. In May 2014, he also attracted headlines when on the home stretch of the Shanghai Diamond League 800 metres he edged into the lead, only to throw it away by celebrating too early. However, the 1,500 metres specialist silenced his critics in September with victory at the Diamond League final at the Memorial van Damme in Brussels and a new personal best.